The present invention relates to a hydraulically operated setting device, to which the powering hydraulic fluid is supplied with the help of a hydraulic aggregate. The hydraulic fluid supplies a piston/cylinder arrangement of the setting device, which moves both a plunger for inserting a connection element, for example a punch rivet, as well as a hold-down device or nose. The setting device is connected with the hydraulic aggregate for this purpose. The hydraulic aggregate comprises a tank for storing hydraulic fluid, such as oil. Moreover, the hydraulic aggregate is equipped with a pump, which pumps the hydraulic fluid out of the tank to the setting device. Since the setting device is usually arranged on an industrial robot, long hydraulic hoses for conveying the hydraulic fluid connect the hydraulic aggregate with the setting device. Depending on the pressure and the volume flows of the hydraulic fluid, which can be generated with the help of the hydraulic aggregate, certain cycle times result, which are required for example for the setting of a punch rivet in at least two components. Furthermore, the cycle time for a setting procedure is impacted by the speed of the hydraulic cylinder during the process of the plunger and the hold-down device.
Since the cycle times of known setting devices with a hydraulic aggregate are not satisfactory, it is one object of the present invention to provide a setting device with a hydraulic aggregate as well as a joining method for connecting at least two components, which requires a shorter cycle time for establishing a connection between two components compared to the state of the art.